From Dubai to Johannesburg, Muscat to Zanzibar and Riyadh to Lagos, the MEA financial landscape is changing rapidly, underpinned by mobile adoption and the growth of regional economic activity. Bolstering the success of financial institutions in addressing critical market challenges, BPC has cemented its place as the partner of choice for MEA financial institutions.
Every country in this region has its own unique characteristics. However, regional trends see banks consolidating across the Middle East while in Africa, banking markets are growing rapidly and are nearly twice as profitable as the global average. A young population, strong mobile adoption and high speed internet access is changing the financial landscape at a rapid pace. Financial institutions and governments alike are driving digital adoption, from identity verification to cashless activities across rural and urban areas. While the gap between urban and rural services remains significant, there is no better time for ecosystem players to improve customer experience and reach using best of breed technologies, promoting the region as a global role model in digital finance.
BPC has a lengthy presence in MEA, pioneering groundbreaking initiatives that have created digital solutions for real life needs. From the first cashless transaction in Ghana and interoperability of the financial network in Algeria to the e-Dirham government project in the UAE and the one million customers signed up in just a year by Tyme Digital Bank in South Africa, the impact of SmartVista technology on people’s daily lives across the region has been considerable.
BPC has a long presence in MEA pioneering historical events that bridge real life needs to digital. From the first cashless transaction in Ghana, Interoperability of the financial network in Algeria, e-Dirham government project in the UAE or the 1 million-customer reach in a year at Tyme Digital Bank in South Africa, the impact the SmartVista technology has on people’s daily lives is tangible.
Digital banking is expanding rapidly across the Middle East and Africa, driven by a youthful population who want to manage their finances the same way they use social media. In the Middle East, it is transitioning from internet banking to mobile, whereas in Africa; it is jumping straight from cash to mobile. Although more than 800 million people in the region do not have access to mobile internet, mobile broadband networks are expanding rapidly, and this growth represents a huge opportunity for digital banking.
BPC has designed its Digital Banking suite with customers in mind, making banking accessible through mobile-first, affordable and easy to enroll and use services. The SmartVista suite has proven its effectiveness with more than one million customers enrolled in South Africa by Tyme Bank and the launch of TONIK bank to serve remote populations in Asia.
Shopping online or purchasing a flight ticket, growing an e-commerce business or enabling QR code payment at a local market…although markets across the Middle East and Africa are at different levels of maturity when it comes to accepting digital payments, the region is ready for the transition to digital payments. Managing their everyday life through a mobile device is changing consumer behaviors and fuelling acceptance of digital payments.
For this ecosystem to work, multiple players need to collaborate and connect, from businesses, banks, issuers and acquirers to local payment systems and international card schemes. With 25 years of experience in payments, BPC enables financial institutions and PSPs to issue and acquire payments, helping grow local and international businesses while providing convenience and security to consumers.
Data from the IMF suggests that a third of the adult population in Africa does not have a bank account. The gap between rural and urban, men and women, and rich and poor remains large.
BPC has years of experience collaborating with banks, micro-finance institutions and governments to help reach unbanked and underserved populations. Through agency banking we reach and empower remote enterprises in rural environments, while mobile payments facilitate economies that have leapfrogged traditional transaction banking. We also work with local and national authorities to combine all aspects of real-life needs into a digital marketplace - from identity to payments and social services to transport. We are setting the pace in fintech and our objective is to connect every citizen or node.
BPC facilitates interoperability in Algeria - millions to use country-wide network.
On 5 January 2020, Houda-Imane Faraoun, Algeria’s Minister for Post Office, Telecommunications, Technologies and Digital, announced that Algérie Poste’s ‘Edahabia’ electronic card had become interoperable with the country’s banking network.